The Investigation Thickens
by Col.Foley
Summary: The Sequel to "Ghosts of Belka" The five man team continue to try and hunt down the Demon Lord and find him before the Belkans. As this hunt continues, bonds of friendship begin to form through the entire team, as this puts one of its members at risk.
1. Back on the case

Holtz woke up yet again, another day, and another time

Holtz woke up yet again, another day, and another time. The investigation was going slowly, microscopically slow. Snail paste. He looked down and noticed that he was shirtless, and rolled his eyes, and rolled over.

He found one and threw it on rapidly. Looking out over the small town in the suburbs. It was really a nice view.

The investigation was going on for two weeks, and yet still no progress on the matter. Well there was progress, just none of it real. Harkness kept on insisting that the mental patient was somehow involved. And Holtz knew that he was not.

Holtz put his other arm through the last sleeve as he started to whistle that tune, that so important, and personal, tune. It had been...that long? He asked himself, with a rueful shake, and he still had not gotten over it. He downed another glass of cheap Yuke vodka and went on his way down the stairs.

There he picked up the paper, and went into the diner for some breakfast, he was hoping to run into someone so he did not have to eat alone.

And... he did. Abi was in the booth closest to the door, looking down at a file.

"Hey Abi." He called and waved, she looked up curious, but when she saw who was calling her, her features broke into a grin. "May I join you?" he asked to her, to which she nodded. He did so.

The waitress came over seemingly instantly and got him a menu, and without even glancing at it, "Coffee, black... and kindly make it strong." he said this last to her retreating form.

He then looked down in curiosity to the file folder that Abi had spread out in front of her. "Work?" He asked her, glancing up in her general direction.

"Yes... it is." She said smiling at him with a hint of unease, and she looked as if she was being rushed slightly.

"If I may make a suggestion: Stop, he is not going to be found by the enemy by working ourselves to death."

"What if they find him first?"

"I doubt it...but still. They most likely will not, we have all the resources of an entire nation backing us... and what do they have?"

"Six... six of us."

"But we have access to an entire nations database, the one that he helped save in the war. So we will find him, of that I can be sure. And besides we have the Oseans giving us all they can."

"Well...that is a good job indeed. But still... and besides it is not about our current assignment." She shoved the folder at him, a briefing on current activities of certain agents in place.

His expression took on that of a crestfallen Donkey. "... Oh."

"Yeah."

"Here you go Hun" The waitress came back and delivered her coffee. "Any thing else?"

"Some French Toast." He said to her, figuring correctly that Abi had already ordered.

"Gotcha, and let me remind you that refills on your coffee are free."

Holtz nodded then watched her walk the other way and around the tight corner leading to more customers. They seemed to be one of only ten groups in there at that time of the morning.

"So...she is getting kind of used to you." Abi said, stretching over to him teasingly.

"Yeah." Holtz grumped not willing to go there, nor was he all that willing to turn around as he observed the Dark Wooden bar and diner areas.

"She has a nice butte." Abi said again playfully, trying to get Holtz to bite.

"No she does not." He again humphed at her. Then thoughtfully. "Abit too flashy if you ask me, I mean I guess it is what some people fancy. But not me. Personally, I mean looks do of course get me, but in the end I prefer great intelligence to gorgeous looks. And of course when you have both at once... then...then you are great, and are likely to hook me."

Abi's meal then came around for her, French Toast as well, although she had hers with blueberries. She looked down and spread a napkin across her lap as she made to eat it on the plastic plate.

He turned back to her with a grin of his own on his face. "Which you have both in spades."

Her fork hesitated as she attempted to hide her obvious surprise and great pleasure at that statement. She forced the mouthful into her mouth and chewed.

His breakfast arrived soon there after, and he got right to work, in order to catch up with her. She did manage to finish first. But only barely.

They both left the hotel, him gesturing her out of the diner as they entered the cool sidewalk area.

After a short, but energetic debate they decided to walk to their new headquarters. In their full uniforms, but still. It was a nice walk for this early in the morning over their four-mile distance, in order to get to where they needed to go. To begin another excellent day of trying to find their man.

About a mile later, and two streets away they had to dodge some water being poured from a second story window, he put a protective hand across her as the stream nearly hit. Of course this was a useless gesture since it got them any way, but it was still a nice one she thought.

They then turned onto their final street, about another quarter of a mile away. And there was the building rising up old, and powerful before them. The building that was built in 1946.

They went into the downstairs basement of the library that the Government was loaning, for free. It was a small computer lab with nine or ten computers, and a conference table in the middle of it. Imitation wood.

"You are late." Harkness said simply with a small glare toward the area of Holtz.

"By two seconds." He reminded Harkness. "And besides where is Hicks most days? He is not here now, and you never remind him."

"He is a civilian."

"Hmmmmm."

They then got to work, Shea and Ortiz was on the computers, while the other three of them began to work rapidly on more files and newspaper reports that had come in. They had even gotten a couple of off days recently. While information just plain dried up. But the tree was now shaken loose.


	2. On the cold long trail

As for John Hicks he was providing his own independent research into the past of the Demon Lord

As for John Hicks he was providing his own independent research into the past of the Demon Lord. He was waking up all of his old contacts and calling old numbers, trying to pick up on the trail himself. That is why he was late, doing it in private so he could talk to his leisure and get everything done that he could.

He had the phone in his right hand trying to think of any other people that might yet have all the information that he needed in order to complete the objectives that he was given. And find the Demon Lord for the first time in nearly twenty years.

He made up his mind and started to dial in a series of numbers for a friend that he had in the Osean tribune. Nothing that was entirely special, just a last bit of a hunch.

He made the call and asked his questions, the man on the other end quickly typed in the information and came back with a negative.

Hicks frowned into the phone that he was holding and said a simple "thank you."

"Hey Hicks, you might want to try the OFS Kestrel memorial sight, I heard that they had a whole lot of information on them from the beginning of the war when the Demon Lord provided air support for the Kestrel."

"Thanks Rob, but I already went there back when I was doing research the first time, believe me there is nothing there that can help me with this quest, nothing in the least that can help me find our man."

"Still might be worth a look buddy."

"Yeah, thanks again." Hicks clicked off the phone and moved into his kitchen to stare out the rear window. His Cat came up to him and rubbed against his leg, probably trying to cheer him up.

He wanted to find this man so bad. And not for the reasons that Abi thought. He knew to himself that an interview would be nice, and all of that, but he just wanted to find the man, and bring him into the light. And then have that interview if the Demon Lord wanted it, but in the end, there was nothing that he could really do to force him. All he wanted was closure for his own experiences in trying to find that research the first time.

He went over to his room and put on his coat and tie as he was going to go into work and report the lack of finding anything to the team…. again.

He knew it was going to be difficult, but he just wished that the guy would be found already. He put on his shoes and headed into work.

He arrived a good solid twenty minutes later and shrugged to the leader of the unit in a negative.

Colonel Holtz looked up at the entrance of the reporter and shook his head as he saw him shrug at the Colonel.

Then Hicks came to sit right across from him as he continued to go over more information that he was trying to analyze.

Hicks picked up a file folder from the top of the pile and opened it, about ready to start reading it in search of the Demon Lord. He frowned and replaced it to the side. He picked up a new one and his frown only deepened.

Holtz could not help but stare at the confused reporter as he picked up yet another file folder and put it down with a frown. "Having trouble?" Holtz asked the man.

"I have already read all of these, aren't there anything else in these folders?"

"No that is it, nothing new has come in for a while now." Holtz said. "Seems that our intelligence has dried up in finding this guy."

Hicks just stretched in his chair as Holtz finished the last of his file folders.

Holtz looked around for a second at the surroundings of the library that they had moved into. Ortiz was playing some kind of card game on the Computer, done with his assignment he was now out and looking around trying to keep himself occupied. The only two people that were actually doing anything were Shea and Harkness.

Shea was working on a listing of missing persons, and John Does that had turned up in the last twenty years. Trying to see if the whole thing was a waste of time or not, the whole mission, the whole hunt for the Demon Lord, seeing if he had passed away recently or ended up dead somewhere. No such luck as of yet. But that could change at any second.

As for Harkness he was looking up the same list, but only for the Military database, trying to see if something or anything was out there that needed his attention. Looking through the list of all the dead to see if he could find him.

The time that they had so far spent searching for their man was well spent. But now it seemed like they were running into a literal dead end. Like no new information was out there concerning anything to the Demon Lord. They were just at it for two weeks and they were already running low on information. And things were tight.

Harkness kept on going back the mental patient. Kept on insisting that he was involved. But Holtz really did know better and told Harkness that several times.

"Hmmm…. that is interesting." Shea finally said from his folder that he was now reading by the computer. The whole group moved over to him as one to see what he had to say for himself, to see what he may have found out.

"It seems that a man turned up in a City's morgue just a few miles North of here. And it looks like it matches the same general physical characteristics of the Demon Lord."

"Well at least it is something." Ortiz stated simply.

"You are right, it is Captain. We shall go investigate. We do not have anything better to do." Harkness said.

Abi, Shea, Holtz, and Ortiz got in the SUV and headed North to where that specific Morgue was.

They arrived nearly three hours later. It was dark when they entered the room. Shea flashing his badge at the person manning the information desk as they entered.

The Morgue was one of the most northern ones in all of Ustio, and it was one of the least manned, and smallest. For several small local police departments in the mountain ranges that were throughout this part of their country.

The Coroner came out to greet Shea especially with a handshake, ignoring the two military personnel. "And what brings you to my fine establishment?" He said with a crooked smile.

Abi also smiled to herself, being amused by this.

"We are looking for a body, maybe." Shea said.

"Oh good, we need to start moving these people out of here, we are starting to get a bit crowded with John Does and hiker people for the last few years. The more the merrier. Looks like the FBI finally started to check into our records and give us a hand giving people closure."

"Exactly." Shea said awestruck. Holtz shared a look with the man from the FBI as they went in.

Holtz went into the freezer and observed all the boxes that filled bodies as Shea and the Coroner went over the details to make sure they found the right man. He could hear their on going conversation. Drifting over to him.

"I believe it is person 37."

"Ah yes. That man. He came in here about 2001, victim of a knife attack. We still have all of his blood work and stuff. I think that he was in some military organization, just a hunch. Either that or an athlete."

"Right, where is he?"

"This way." The Coroner said gesturing, Holtz followed him over to observe whom they were talking about. Abi stayed suspiciously on the other side of the room.

Holtz approached the table as the Coroner wrenched it open, revealing the dead guy. Holtz spun around at the site, he thought he had seen it all. Even Shea had to wrinkle his nose in slight disgust.

"Can we see a blood sample?" Shea asked to the Coroner after he got done with an examination of the body.

"Sure thing. But I do not know what good it will do you. His crime happened before they started to keep DNA on file."

"Unless he was at one point military." Abi said speaking up for the first time.

"Yes, that is right isn't it."

Holtz knew that she had a point as well. The Civilian authorities only used blood to keep blood type records of every body. They only upgraded to DNA as well only in the last few years as the identification technology became better to the public for those results. However, the Military started to upgrade the system almost since the beginning. Anyone who had ever served in a Ustian airforce, even the Demon Lord, had their DNA on file so that they could identify, hopefully, any body who was shot down over unfriendly terrain.

Shea and the group took the blood sample to the SUV and plugged it into a special lab that they had sent with them that beamed the results to the FBI database a long way away. No such luck. It was a dead end, no one in the military matched that pattern, not even the Demon Lord.

Discouraged the team drove back to headquarters, and there they reported in their findings to a disgruntled Colonel Harkness. Where they all went home after a long, and seemingly useless day.


	3. Taking a Day off From it All

Two days had now passed, and the well of information had completely dried up

Two days had now passed, and the well of information had completely dried up. So much so that Harkness did send them home early. Just trying to keep his troops from going out of their mind in boredom.

Abi and Holtz were using that time to get better aquatinted, they were in a restaurant that was just North of the Suburb, a high priced place that served great food to couples, and all other people from every walk of life. Holtz for his part was enjoying the company he had extremely.

And so was she. They were starting to get close, and they both knew it, but now were the time to see what that closeness could mean.

He was quiet at the moment, preoccupied with the past. And with everything else that was going on at that moment with his life. No matter how hard he tried….

"Cameron, what's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing, just thinking about the Demon Lord."

"Hey, why don't you take your own advice and leave your work at work." She said to him gently, her voice letting a slight amount of concern enter into it.

He smirked at her. "Yeah, but I guess I can't help it either. This matters to me so much I get."

"Why?"

"Why not? To actually meet the Demon Lord. That would be amazing."

"It would." She lapsed back into silence lightly. "Are you begging to have doubts?"

"What that we will find him?" He asked, she nodded. "Nope, I know that we will find him, but still in the long run, it may really be up to him."

"Maybe, but how does he know that the danger is coming?"

"Well if I were him I would be keeping tabs on everything that is going on in all of Ustio, and maybe Belka, see what is coming my way so that I could predict it."

Abi went down into a contemplative silence as she considered this news. She looked down as they both continued with their meal.

He then started to whistle. That same tune that he was whistling the last couple of times. Then it clicked, where that tune was from, what she had heard it from. It was the tune that they used in the end of the movies that they made a few years back about the end of the Belkan War. The Legendary final battle between Cipher and his best friend. Solo Wing Pixie. The movie was made from a large part of Hick's research.

"I know that tune, they used that in that multi million blockbuster trilogy they made about The War a few years back."

Holtz looked up in stark surprise that she would know what it is. But then he smiled at her. "Yes it is."

"I loved those movies, they were the best. Made me quite proud actually. My first real Patriotic experience."

"As did I, but they were so wrong. That song is the only thing they got right."

Now it was her turn to be surprised. "Oh. And how so? All the people I have talked to, and all the historians that have commented on it says it is accurate."

"Yeah, they got the general big picture right. But they got most of all the little things and the substance wrong almost completely. That song was the only thing that they got right when Solo Wing and the Demon Lord were dueling each other."

"Oh? And how would you know that? It's not like you were there." Abi said smiling at him teasingly.

"Oh, well, I mean- uh, it was on the World Without Boundaries Play list, that much is known. Reason why they chose it. And I have heard some Airforce friends I have talked to say that the technical details were off."

"OK" She said.

The rest of the meal did pass with them moving on to a more personal conversation, as they finished it and wrapped it up in nearly an hour. Abi invited Holtz to go up to her hotel room temporarily.

When they arrived he only meant to stay a few minutes, perhaps enjoy a nightcap and a cocktail with her.

But he was surprised, and a bit joyed by her actions. So much time that he had spent alone. She was wrapped her arms around his neck bringing him into a tight embrace as she started to kiss him, tenderly, but with a burning passion on the underneath.

But he was kissing her back, his right arm wrapped around her lower back. They were leaning into each other, enjoying the closeness of one another as they went at it. Pouring their feelings out for the other to see. With his free hand he opened up the room that led to the bed part of the hotel. As she kicked the door closed. Continuing their secret dance.

In Osea Blaze was at his office desk sipping some coffee while looking out of Ourad bay. His intercom phone buzzed at him and he turned to press the button, "yeah?" He said into it.

"Sir, I was able to find those folders that you requested, should I bring them on over?"

Blaze brightened up at that. "Yeah, bring them on over. Right to the conference table, I will have it cleared for you when you get here."

The man arrived carrying a moderate sized box and went over to the conference table, Blaze joined him there and they started to sort through all the material that they had in there, all of it dating back to the Belkan war.

"Look at all this history…" Blaze said in awe as he sorted through the photographs of the base that the Demon Lord was at.

Looking at views of the Ustian President there shaking the hand of the base commander and visiting the site. Of the men and press all standing around cheering all of their victories. This being the latest one. The one to win the Belkan War.

And then there was one more. A shot of a man standing up in his cockpit, hands on his hips, looking around with a giant and relieved grin on his face as he surveyed all of those around him. All of them cheering and looking up at his plane.

"This must have been taken shortly after they had liberated Directus…." The man to his left said also looking over the photos.

"And that must be him." Blaze said pointing, but daring not to touch the photos for some odd reason.

"Yeah, I think you are right sir."

"Well then we should send it off to where it needs to be."

"Sir?"

"Some people in the Ustian government want the Demon Lord Found for what ever reason, and they asked us for help."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, and someone I know is on the team, a reporter by the name of Hicks, I will send it over to him."

"Should we not try and send it to the Ustian government."

"No, I do not know the exact address to the consulate, or their government offices. I know his off the top of the head. Besides, they always take great steps to secure their international flights, and their diplomatic ones. It is the most secure airlane in history apparently. And that has not changed. No I will send it to him especially."

"Yes sir."

Blaze resealed the box and moved to do so, and to get it mailed to the appropriate place. And then he made one more call.

Hicks was just waking up early in the morning to go back into work at this late date in order to continue to find the Demon Lord. He was sipping on some warm milk when the phone chose that moment to ring. Startling his cat.

"Hello?"

"Hicks, Blaze here."

"Blaze! How are you doing buddy?" He said enthusiastically into the phone.

"Pretty good. Hey look, I am sending a diplomatic bag to your house a little later, should have all the information I was able to rustle up regarding the 'Demon Lord,' should help out. And it should be there in around eight to ten hours."

"Great. Thanks."

Hicks then placed down the phone in its cradle feeling bubbly, that this was going to be his shining moment. And he was going to be able to put this assignment behind him and go back to his newspaper. Reporting for a while until he took up that management job that he knew that he was going to get when he decided on it. With that he finished dressing and left the room with a spring in his step.

Holtz woke up blearily and curiously completely content and happy. First time in ages that had happened to him. He looked down to his blanket-covered chest and saw a naked arm across of it.

He moved gently and looked at the woman, who was next to him, he went over and kissed her lightly on forehead, she stirred slightly.

They then went back to the outside room and took their turns to get dressed back into their uniforms as they too went to work for the new day.


	4. On the Trail of the Red Rabbit

It was now lunch, the day after

It was now lunch, the day after. And Hicks had decided that he was going to go out for it today instead of eating the same old generic sandwiches that he was having for the past few weeks now.

The fact was that he was part of a mass exodus, everyone left the office to go have their various meals out today, leaving only Colonel Harkness behind to eat, and to do the paper work that he was trying to get done. Abi and Holtz had elected to go out for Pizza, while Ortiz and Shea were going out for seafood.

Hicks for himself was going into a Deli just North of the library, only a couple of miles away, he decided for himself to drive that distance to the joint instead of walking it.

He got in line and got his meal, a Deli concoction that had three pieces of different cheeses, with two slices of Ham in the middle, he got it, paid for it, then made his way over to the table by the door.

He munched on the meal thoughtfully as he considered his assignment yet again. The fact that soon it could be over. A mounting excitement was spreading all throughout him as he realized exactly what this could mean. He would be going to go back. It was like a kid waiting for his first Christmas. He could not get over that fact as he considered his situation.

His eyes focused on another person who then came into the Deli shop, it was Dr. Kaufer.

Hicks swallowed his bite and then waved him over. "Dr. Over here! How is it going?" He said as the Doctor turned to sit with him.

Since Dr. Kaufer was the man to bring the Belkan investigation to their attention he was granted full access to all the members of the team, and thus any intelligence that they might of gathered.

"Not badly John, how is it going with you?"

"Oh, things are going great." Hicks decided to let him in on the little secret. "The Oseans called me last night, apparently they got some intelligence that they are giving to me that leads to the whereabouts of the Demon Lord."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they did not say much on what was in there, but who knows? Could be anything."

"Well that is something, best of luck to you. I need to go however and see someone."

He got up and left, leaving Hicks to his meal and his drink. He thought it odd at first that Kaufer had not actually got anything to eat. But he did not give the matter much thought afterward. As he went back in on the self-speculation of what the intelligence was that the Oseans were going to send him.

With that he got up and went back to his work, another boring day until the package arrived. The one that would change all of their fortunes.

Abi and Holtz were in the mean time eating their Pizza in absolute seclusion on the other side of town. They were the last ones to leave, and Harkness had once again given them the time off, seemingly defeated. Nothing was coming up that could seem to be a help to them, and he was quite glum.

But right now the two of them were in a rather odd position, with one of their hands were both locked across the table, locked with each other, and in the other they were munching on yet some more Pizza. Slowly.

Holtz was genuinely happy. He had been before in the last couple of years, but his two lines of work did not allow him much chance to actually stay happy. Every time he tried he always lost it in the end quickly.

He was wondering yet again when his past might catch up with him again, when something would happen to ruin this mood as well. But nothing was happening yet.

And Holtz was allowing himself to believe that it might not happen. That finally all of his service would pay off. That he might achieve a final happiness that he could last.

Abi was smiling at him, studying carefully. Closely. Trying to read his mind. She did not know him quite well enough yet to read his every mood. But Holtz knew that she was getting there, and that she had already gotten close enough to him then any other woman in all of his life. There were a few that he was close to, but never this close. And how this could happen this quickly was beyond him.

But in the end he was enjoying himself, and that was all that mattered. He knew that this was his last assignment any way though, so that part of it did not matter.

"So, Cameron, what is wrong?"

He looked up surprised, "nothing, why nothing at all. I am just contemplating the future."

"You shouldn't do that you know, you might get a head ache." She said with mock knowledge. Teasing him.

"Yeah, I do suppose you are right." He said also teasingly and with a smile back at her.

"Well what should we do?" She asked him finishing her second piece.

"I have no idea. I just want to…. I don't know, I really think that we should be trying to find him, I mean all of these off days are getting a bit boring. I never had so many on an assignment since I joined the Military."

It was now evening and Hicks was back at his place waiting for the package to arrive so that he could review it and learn the identity. Hopefully. He had to remind himself not to let his fancy get too far ahead of his self.

He was pacing back and forth in his dress shirt, passing the time in a nervous fit. His Cat was following him lazily with his eyes. Looking like he was about ready to be hypnotized by sleep. Looking also like he was about ready to fall off his perch and hit the ground.

Hicks looked at him, they both seemed to stare each other down. But then the two of them moved he went over and fed him, he meowed grateful for eating.

That is when he heard something, a large truck pulling up outside, he positively jogged over and opened the door just as the delivery boy was about to knock, he recovered from his mistake with a start.

He signed it and took over to the Dining room table as he got a knife and clearly opened up the box.

He started to swift through it, a commemoration plaque of the Demon Lord himself. Not revealing a name, just call sign, squadron number and plane, and F-2 etched in the background. Then there was a log of flight and supply, and fuel consumption for the entire base that he was at. Also useless but it was a curiosity. Then there was the list of supplies that the Oseans had sent the base over the course of the war, and the estimated cost. Which the Ustians never actually had to pay, more of a book keeping venture.

Then the last thing, a Manila covered folder just sitting there. In the middle of the box, he picked it up and broke the seal.

In it were photographs. All taken after the Belkan War ended, no that did not fit. They were happy, and he did not expect them to be that happy after what the Demon Lord had to do.

He continued to sift through them, till he came to a likely picture. There he must have been, standing on his fighter, smiling down on the crowd both relieved and cocky and of so happy. No this could not have been after the Avalon Dam strike, he looked way too happy.

The cockpit was just barely visible. Hicks needed to get a magnifying glass to try and see the name. Even then it would be very difficult, at that.

He returned and squinted into the glass he as he tried to see it. He was about to give up after a minute when he got the name, his eyes widened in surprise. It could not have been him, could it? Now that was odd. And it looked like him, granted twenty years younger but it was still there.

He went to go for his phone.

On the sidewalk outside a woman was walking her dog by Hicks's place, as an explosion lit the entire area sending wood and shrapnel from the house everywhere, taking the poor owner and dog out.

All the residents went out of their home and investigated, others then called their emergency numbers. Many of them getting busy signals as the lines were overrun with emergency calls from the area.

The police then quickly got all of their personnel moving, as well as looking through a list of contacts. The call went out quickly enough to friends, and relatives, which few of those were on the list that he was still talking to. But mainly his work.

Harkness called the SUV that was on its way down back to the library after chasing down another lead. The SUV turned to go pick up Holtz and Abi that were off doing there own thing as they were doing more back checking on their latest lead.

They picked them up at the hotel hardly even bothering to stop as the two people got in.

Ortiz and Shea smiled at each other as they realized what the two of them were trying to hide, but there was no time for that as they sped slightly over the speed limit to reach the destination.

They arrived and saw the engines and the police cars. They went into the on site head quarters as the chief of operations filled them in on what they had been able to learn for the last twenty minutes. Which was virtually nothing. Holtz asked permission to go in and do some investigating of their own, Shea explained what they were, and the chief relented.

Holtz and Shea led the way as Abi and Ortiz had to play catch up, they were walking right up to the still mostly intact door frame, as the rest of the place was an utter mess.

The four of them drew their pistols as they held them up and down, waiting to bring them on any one that came across them. Abi was the only one that was pointing it out to cover them in case anyone was in there that could present a threat. On the frame itself there was a blood smear, but Holtz for whatever reason suspected that it was not human.

They went into the house and started to search through the wreckage.

The search then continued. But soon enough they found him. Lying, blood leaking form several wounds all over his body. Abi leaned down and touched him, he jolted at that and turned around, she leapt back and pointed her weapon at him forgetting he was a friend.

He blinked, and looked around. "I know who he is…. the Demon Lord."

"Who is it?" Shea asked.

His eyes flicked over to Holtz, and he mouthed. "Him"

"Who, who is it man?"

Hicks was over come by a coughing fit at that point. And then he died before them, there was nothing they could do as they again went back to base to make this startling report.


	5. Revelations

It was now nearly a month after the event

It was now nearly a month after the event. And still no leads on the Demon Lord. The truth was they were all distracted on the loss of their own. What did happen? What did he know that could get him killed? Especially those.

Holtz ran his hand over Abi's shoulder as she considered these things. She smiled wanly at him, the only person to keep her sane now that Hicks was gone. She was so surprised at how she was feeling at the moment, surprised that she had gotten that close to Hicks.

As for them, their own government was getting tired of the chase, nothing was happening. They had hit a wall, and nothing was coming out of them. Nothing at all. Although she did get the feeling that she was being stalked at the moment. Though she did not know from where.

Also the nagging feeling that she knew who was the 'Demon Lord' she could not shake it, something in the way that Hicks said it. Just sent a shiver down her spine.

All these thoughts and feelings, her ever mounting love, were all chasing each other in her head. And it was so maddening to her.

Holtz knew that something was up, knew that she was on the hunt, that something was bothering her that she could not quite put her handle on.

Abi knew that Holtz was odd, she suddenly realized that there was still something that he was keeping from her. That there was something from his past that he was trying to get away from. But the question of course was what.

Harkness slammed his fist down on the table as he called the team that they could go home, they did so, preferring to leave their Colonel alone.

Abi went back to her room, without Holtz on this occasion, and took a shower, before sitting on her bed in her robe. Continuing to think about everything. It was 22:00 hours, and she was beginning to feel sleep over take her.

It did slowly, but surely, her mind not willing to keep up with the overload of information that was assaulting her.

She fell asleep, her arms spreading out covering both sides, her legs lolling over the sides slightly. The endless sleep of infinite dreams.

She woke up suddenly with a start, realizing what she was dreaming about. Her golden knight, but flying a modern steed. This got her thinking.

Was he the Demon Lord? No he could not be, there was no way that her lover could be him. It would be nice if it were, dating a hero, especially since he was so nice and so…cuddily? But no, no way.

She tried to get that thought out of her head, but it would not leave, it was hovering in the back of her head constantly, threatening to over take her.

She got up and made herself a slight coffee, her mind seemingly unbidden putting the pieces together. She did not know what had woken her up, but she knew that it was something that had. And now she needed to get her brain warmed up to put the rest of the pieces together. She sat down in the chair in front of the hotel TV without turning it on, and let her mind play.

There was the fact that he was so hidden from even her.

There was the fact that he seemed to know a lot more a bout dog fights then she did, or any one she met.

There was the fact that he knew that the mental patient was not the Demon Lord despite the over whelming evidence.

Then there was that song, that song that he used for great nostalgia. He had a look in his eyes when he heard it, it really was amazing to watch him when he was doing it.

He was it, he had to be, that man.

She got up, and went over to the sink, spilling the rest of her coffee there, then she rested her hands down on the counter top, face down, trying to figure out how she was going to break it to him…

She was suddenly ripped back from her position forceful, she could feel two strong hands around her, dragging her back into the main room. She tried to scream but all she got for her effort was a rag forced into her mouth. She felt a liquid there. The taste of chloroform was so distinctive at that moment. She knew that she was slowly, and ultimately, loosing consciousness, she collapsed into the arms of her assailant, her body going limp as her eyes closed.

Holtz went into work the next day, one more day, and maybe their last day, as they were trying to find the unknown man. Curiously Abi was not there. She always beat him here when they went into work separately, and he did not see her at breakfast. He found both of these odd, but then, anything could have happened.

He got back to work expecting to see her at any moment.

But no such luck, he spent the rest of the day in boredom. Not seeing her at all. He was slightly worried but imagined that those worries would be alieved when he got to her room and saw her there with a fever. Then he would take care of her.

But no such luck, she was not there, he had to in fact break the lock as he entered. She did not come, and she was not anywhere to be seen, and also the beds looked ruffled…. wait…there was something on that bed.

It was a cellphone, oddly patterned, blue and black. He had never seen it before. He froze, fearing to move in the least, as the two seemed to stare each other down, waiting for the other to jump.

It did, a ring happened from it. He went over to it in two steps and picked it up.

"Cameron Holtz." A garbled voice said.

"Yeah." He said into it, his eyes narrowing in suspicion, his heart reeling in sudden fear.

"We have your lady friend." It stated simply.

"Where?" Holtz said, letting a little too much of the panic he was beginning to feel course through his veins.

A snicker greeted his ears. "See that lap top on the work desk?"

"Yeah." Holtz said now noticing it for the first time.

"Go over and turn it on, in it should be what you are looking for."

"Alright."

He did so, and the start up program was a copy of a flight plan for a military channel that went through Ustio's mountains, North into Belka, and they had already left about ten minutes ago. He would have to hurry.

He closed the phone, and the computer as he ran into his car got in and flipped on the ignition, he went driving at a rate rapidly approaching over the speed limit.

It was time.

To be Continued….

Complete.


End file.
